Newsletter Week 2 Term 1 Friday 8 February 2019 In this issue BGS2019 Newsletter Prefect |Induction Lead Article Captain’s Corner Middle School sport Deputy Headmaster – Students David Carroll In a wonderful milestone for senior students, the 2019 School and Harlin House Prefects were inducted today at the Senior School Assembly. To add to the delight of the ceremony, the parents of this year’s Prefects joined us on this important occasion. Leadership is one of Brisbane Grammar School’s five core values. The School describes leadership as a form of service. Although the Prefects were presented with their badges as part of the induction process, this assembly also acknowledges the entire senior cohort and their leadership role in developing our school’s culture this year. I also would like to take this opportunity to wish well our Form Seniors and members of the various senior committees who will serve to provide wonderful opportunities for the younger students at the School. Prior to the commencement of the school year, School and Harlin House Prefects gathered to prepare for their respective roles. It was an important day for the development of this team of young leaders. As a result of their work, this year’s theme, As One, was developed. Part of my enjoyment on the day was the collaborative way this theme was decided. Aside from it being a very clever theme, it reflects the intent of the 2019 seniors to unite and support all aspects of school life. School Captain Nick Miller shared this with the senior cohort last week, and at assembly today with the Senior School. His address was outstanding, focusing on the As One theme in an authentic way. I have been very pleased with the leadership displayed by our seniors so far this year, and feel that the School will be well led by a cohort of boys committed to serving their school and building on the work of the senior cohorts they follow. BGS Newsletter | Lead Article 1 Below are the names of the School and Harlin House Prefects. I congratulate them on their appointment and encourage them to lead this year in a way that actions the School focus and their theme. 2019 School and Harlin House Prefects School Prefects Harlin House Prefects Daniel Athanasellis Parth Mehta Ryan Ah Yek Harry Barker Nick Miller Anthony Buswell Thomas Bizzell Teddie Mower Sam Corbett Hugo Brown Sebastian Porras Josh Eastaway Lachie Colledge Tom Rimmington James Kenny Cameron Cormack-Thomson Noah Rosemann Calvin Lam Finn Dargavel Yazgi Sato Callum McCarthy Harrison Emery Jackson Smith Jude Forrest Chris Sole Ben Hains Saravanan Somasundaram Archie Halliday Keng Tan Jian Lin Tim Weber Harry Luu On another matter, Tuesday this week was Safer Internet Day. Form Tutors raised the issue with the boys in their Tutor Groups. More information is available at the Safer Internet Day website. I think the start of the school year is the perfect time for you to discuss this with your son. Captain’s Corner The excitement, the apprehension and the early mornings. The new school year is well and truly upon us. On Friday at the Prefect Induction Assembly, I delivered an address purposed with announcing our vision for the 2019 school year – As One. Our aim as a Prefect body was to generate a catch cry that encompassed three focus areas – unity, engagement and developing a sense of pride and belonging in the School. As a cohort, we are extremely pleased with the result and look forward to embracing it wholeheartedly over the course of 2019. At the assembly, I also took the chance to extend the leadership induction process to the entire Year 12 cohort. In doing so, I acknowledged the importance of their mentor role as a BGS senior student. I recognised their responsibility to influence and embody our vision, while also ensuring those in younger grades do likewise. Finally, I reminded the entire student body, irrespective of their perceived place within this community, that ultimately the success of 2019 lies with them. With major GPS events on the horizon, we look forward to commencing 2019 strongly by attracting large and supportive crowds to the Swimming and Rowing events. These events will provide an enormous boost for the competing student body and the School as a whole. We seek an enthusiastic start to the united mentality that we are striving for in 2019. As we settle into our daily scholastic and co-curricular routines for the year, I would like to genuinely extend my best wishes to all fellow students, parents and staff for the term ahead. Nick Miller School Captain BGS Newsletter | Lead Article 2 Headmaster Anthony Micallef At the Senior School Assembly today, we acknowledged the seniors who were selected as Prefects by their peers and staff. The boys took the oath to serve this community, to uphold accepted traditions and to lead the student body in 2019. School Captain Nick Miller made his inaugural address and delivered the seniors’ vision for 2019. When reflecting upon the ceremonies that have been conducted in the opening weeks, each event confirmed for me what a rare privilege it is to educate other people’s children. The staff at Brisbane Grammar School understand that this privilege brings with it enormous responsibility to provide the best all-round education possible as we aim to prepare young men for happiness and success in their adult lives. At BGS we care about the individual and pride ourselves on shaping good citizens who positively contribute to their communities. We live in fast-changing times, and an exceptional, broad-minded and well-rounded education is more important than ever. Of course, academic outcomes matter and at Brisbane Grammar School our students consistently achieve excellent results in all areas of study, giving them access to the top universities in Australia and overseas. However, this is just one aspect of a BGS education and boys are supported to show ambition both within and beyond the classroom. Tradition is important and still forms some of our guiding principles, but we strive to build on the past while looking to the future. BGS is and will remain, a forward-looking school that willingly grasps innovation and new opportunity. So important is our commitment to providing a modern setting that the BGS Board of Trustees and the Senior Leadership Team have undertaken a comprehensive enterprise risk management, compliance and workplace health and safety review as part of its commitment to continue to provide for the safety, security and welfare of the School community. The emphasis of the review will be on delivering contemporary, best-practice, practical strategies and solutions, which we can implement across our portfolio of facilities including the Spring Hill campus, Northgate Playing Fields, Tennis Centre, Rowing Boatshed and our Outdoor Education Centre and properties at Moogerah. As part of this process, BGS undertook a tender process and selected the consulting firm Workforce Resilience to conduct the review. Founding Director Scott Harris will lead the review. His firm has undertaken similar reviews for public and private sector organisations across Australia over the last four years. The review process has begun, so you may see the review team at our facilities, events and co-curricular activities. To develop a broader understanding of the roles, operations and daily activities of the BGS community, the project team will undertake stakeholder engagement and focus group discussions during the project. The Senior Leadership Team and the Board of Trustees are committed to delivering outstanding outcomes to students, staff, parents and wider community. We look forward to sharing the key findings, recommendations and successes from this important exercise with you over the coming months. BGS Newsletter | Lead Article 3 Year 10 Parent–Son Kokoda trip September 2019 An information session will be held for Year 10 parents interested in learning more about a BGS Parent–Son Kokoda trip which will be coordinated by Aurora Adventures in September 2019. Those who participated with their sons in similar treks have spoken of the remarkable experience — made more remarkable by being shared — and the lifelong friendships that develop between the parents and among the boys. Further information is included in the brochure which has been posted on MyGrammar in the Year 10 section. Note that all boys who participate in this trek must be accompanied by a parent. Information session Date: Monday 18 February 2019 Time: 6.00pm Location: The Lilley Centre Guest Speaker: Evan Donaghue, Operations Manager, Aurora Adventures Contact: Petrina Gilmore | [email protected] or 07 3834 5748 RSVP: [email protected] Fee accounts for 2019 The School emailed fee accounts to all parents on Friday 14 December 2018. If you do not remember seeing it, please check your junk email folder. Please note that the first instalment for everyone is due on or beforeFriday 15 February 2019. If you are paying your account upfront for the full year, we must receive your payment by this date or you will not be entitled to the 4% discount and your account will be adjusted accordingly. Please contact BGS Accounts via [email protected] if you have any questions regarding this matter. Kay Goodwin Director of Finance BGS Newsletter | Students 4 Director of Boarding Berian Williams-Jones This week, Year 11 student Harry Chapman joined Harlin House as our first occasional boarder. Day students such as Harry can take advantage of this flexible boarding arrangement, which should become more popular in the weeks to come. It has been a wonderfully smooth transition for Harry, no doubt made that much easier by his previous experience at Harlin House.